Thursday, July 21, 2011

How to Spot Fake New Philippine Peso Bills

Recently highlighted in the local TV news were counterfeit Philippine peso notes. At this early in the game, some unscrupulous people have already tried to duplicate the redesigned Philippine Peso bills. According to Maja Gratia Malic, manager of the currency analysis and redemption division of the BSP, these fake bills look dull, feel plain and is smooth to the touch. With regards to this problem, proceed to the section below to know how to spot fake new Philippine Peso bills by its looks and feel.

Characteristics of Genuine New Philippine Peso bills

Embossed bill wordings - The title of the bill and the Republika ng Pilipinas phrase is lifted above the bill and is clearly distinguishable by feel;

Rough - New bills are threaded and are colored through a process known as "intalio printing." This process takes a maximum of 4 days to finish, resulting to the rough feel of the new bills;

Vividly colored - Genuine bills are very vivid and has vibrant colors. It doesn't look dull, light, or faded. Color contrast and hue are definite giveaways when spotting fakes;

Fatter security threads - The holographic security threads are still there, but were made fatter for improved visibility. It also changes colors when viewed from different angles;

Multiple watermarks - Aside from the watermark of the face of the bill, the Central Bank has also added a watermark of a bill's respective denomination i.e. P1,000.00 bills have now watermarks in the bill itself. Just hold the bill against a light source to see these security features;

Inscriptions - The new Philippine Peso bills have on the lower left hand corner on both faces inscriptions which look like a series of horizontal curves. These inscriptions are a pre-hispanic script called Baybayin, which in the bill translates to Filipino. The bill, when placed against the light, will show these two inscriptions perfectly mirroring each other.

Optically variable inks - The ink used in selected parts of a genuine Philippine Peso bill change color when viewed in a different angle.

Now with these security features you will be able to spot fake Philippine Peso bills like a pro in no time. But what will you do if fake Philippine Peso bills still get past you? Here's what to do:

How to Report Fake Philippine Peso Bills

1. Go to any Philippine bank e.g. Banco De Oro, Union Bank of the Philippines etc.;

2. Present the Philippine Peso bill or bills you suspect to be fake;

3. The bank will give the presenter an acknowledgement receipt to certify that the notes submitted are the presenter's. It will be used later for claiming the notes submitted. The bank will now forward the notes to the Central Bank of the Philippines for analysis;

4. After an immediate analysis and determination, the Central Bank of the Philippines will return the notes to the bank of origin. The presenter will now be able to claim the said notes together with the analysis of the BSP.

Note: The Central Bank of the Philippines will not replace notes they determined to be counterfeit with genuine Philippine Peso bills. They reasoned out that the counterfeit bills have no real value to begin with, so it is not economical to replace something without value with something of value.

With this quick guide I hope I helped you learn how to spot fake new Philippine Peso bills. You have to be absolutely careful with dealing with other people because this is money we're talking about. Especially look out for your bills in shady places like Divisoria, Quiapo, and most places in Manila.